


Side of the Road

by B_does_the_write_thing



Series: The Commuters Series [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Storybrooke AU, meet cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-10
Updated: 2015-07-10
Packaged: 2018-04-08 16:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4312257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/B_does_the_write_thing/pseuds/B_does_the_write_thing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a rather...unorthodox way to meet a man.</p><p>-Nominated for Best Meeting in 2016 T.E.A.'s-</p>
            </blockquote>





	Side of the Road

**Author's Note:**

> Anon Prompt.

It was a rather…unorthodox way to meet a man, Belle readily admitted. But at the ripe age of thirty, desperate times called for desperate measures.

At least that’s what Ruby said.

“How’s it going out there?”

Juggling the phone with one hand as she adjusted her sunglasses, Belle offered a sigh of disgust in response. Her wordless commentary was lost as another car raced past her on the highway, drowning everything else out.

Over the phone, Ruby was proclaiming, “Jesus, that sounded like a corvette. Bet it was red, wasn’t it? Fucking middle age jackoffs, always go for the red ‘vette.”

“Language, Ruby,” Belle mumbled as her sunglasses began to slide back down her nose. Standing out in the sea of black pavement outside Storybrooke had seemed like a great idea last night at happy hour but now that she was actually here, she had to revise her earlier judgment.

It was a stupid idea.

“It’s a hundred and ten degrees out here,” she complained, watching as another car slowed as it approached her on the two-way highway before it accelerated past her. “I’ve had five people stop and ask me if I need help and one of them was older than your grandmother.”

“Belle,” Ruby began with a long-suffering tone of weariness. “ Eyes on the prize. Now, are your hazard lights on?”

“I’m not an idiot,” Belle snapped. She had already double-checked that, four times. “The hood is propped open, hazard lights are on, I’m standing outside the car and I have the battery unclipped. Just like you told me.”

“Well, then it should work,” Ruby shot back defensively. “I’ve never known the broken down damsel in distress on the side of the road to fail. Not ever.”

Thinking desperately of the air conditioned wonderland that was her library office, Belle let her head fall back against the hood of her Ford mustang, letting it rest against the hot metal. “You told me you’ve never done this before,” Belle reminded her as she stared up at the blue sky, clouds like cotton balls static in the breezeless late spring day. “And there’s no guarantee he’ll even see me.”

“I haven’t,” Ruby responded. “But you see this guy every single day on your drive home, right? Everyday at quarter to five, that’s why you leave the library like clockwork. Explain to me why he would choose a Wednesday of all days to not drive home?”

“Ruby,” Belle groaned. “I don’t know I just- “

“Am freaking out,” Ruby said along with her. “Yea, yea, I know but this was your idea.”

“If the next words out of your mouth are ‘be brave’,” Belle warned her as she lifted her head at the sound of an approaching car. “I’m going to hang up on you.”

A large familiar gold Cadillac was approaching where her car had ‘broken down’. Belle felt her heart rate start to accelerate. It was a much older model, well taken care for but still showed signs of age.

It was him, her fellow Storybrooke to Outer Banks commuter, Mr. Gold Cadillac; Or as she liked to refer him to her friends on girl nights out, Mr. Caddy.

As it neared her, it started to slow. “Ruby,” Belle muttered into the phone nervously. “Oh my god, it’s him. He’s slowing down.”

“Hang up!” Ruby admonished her. “He’ll think you’re already calling for help!”

“This is lunacy,” Belle rattled off as the car came nearer. “I can’t believe you talked me into stranding myself on the side of the road just to meet a stranger-“

She dimly heard Ruby mutter about her being overly dramatic as the Cadillac drove slowly by her. Resisting the urge to sink down in her cracked leather driver seat and knock her head against the steering wheel for a bit, Belle lifted the phone back up to her ear.

“Never mind,” she mumbled. Two hours of sweating her makeup off and closing the library early was all for nothing. She reached into the open passenger side window to grab at the car’s owner manual. She had unclipped the battery but she wanted to double check wires before she electrified herself putting it back on. “I’m calling it quits. You owe me a milkshake.”

“Okay,” Ruby agreed. Belle resisted the urge to further grouse at her, knowing her friend hadn’t forced her out here today. She had come on her own, despite her initial misgivings. “Maybe we could try a flat tire on Main Street next week…I still say he works downtown near you. I mean, I could get Billy to deflate your tire without damaging it-“

Belle heard the slight crunching noise of a car’s tread as Ruby started in on her next grand plan. Looking up quickly from the manual, she watched as the golden Cadillac rolled to a stop about a half-mile away from her.

“Mr. Cadillac came back,” she told Ruby breathlessly. “Holy cow, I think he reversed back down the shoulder.”

“That’s good!” Ruby crowed. “Well, I mean as long as he’s not a creep or a pyscho. You’ve never actually you know, spoken to him before.”

Nervous energy started to churn in her stomach as the brake lights went off, indicating the car had parked. “Ruby, I don’t know if I can do this-“

“Just stay on the phone long enough to tell me if he’s actually normal,” Ruby was unhelpfully demanding. The car ahead of her started flashing it’s hazard lights as the door began to open.

Belle’s half hissed retort to her still talking friend died on her lips as slender shoulders and narrow hips unfolded from the roomy sedan before dark tinted sunglasses turned to find her in the bright glare of the late afternoon sun.

“Belle?” Cracked Ruby through the tinny reception. “What’s happening?”

“I’ll call you back Ruby,” Belle said hurriedly, hanging up and throwing the phone into the passenger seat along with the owner’s manual.

After the past year of driving distracted, Belle was actually going to meet him. No more driving in front of him, stealing glances in her mirror. No more flirtatious races down the small two lane widened road when you got out of the city proper, no more furtive attempts to find out what exit he got off at or near wrecks as she tried to see if he had a ring on his fingers.

She knew he was older, that was clear in the way the sunlight reflected silver off his greying hair whenever he had his window down. She also knew he would be wearing one of his signature suits, despite the hot weather. As the gravel crunched underfoot as her approached, Belle could make out the fine tailoring on his three-piece suit just fine. She also noticed a very slight limp, he favored one leg as he walked, hand grasping in mid air.

“Miss?” Came the surprising Scottish accent of her Good Samaritan. He stopped short of the hood of her car, jerking his chin towards her engine. Belle started out to meet him, glancing down as she picked her way over the debris in her go to heels. “Are you in any need of assistance?”

“Uh,” Belle gaped at him, tucking her unruly hair behind her ear as she came to a stop just beside the front bumper of her car. “Actually, I think I have it under control…”

He nodded curtly, the sun flashing off the dark surface of his glasses. “I had supposed as much,” he replied. “But I thought I had better check to be certain.”

Distracted by the way his hair curled about his shoulders, Belle nodded distractedly back at him. Good lord, he was even more handsome outside of his car.

“You might…,” he paused, glancing down at his shoes as he shoved his hands in his pocket. “Might want to sit in the car until help arrives,” he suggested. “You’ve got a bit of a sunburn.”

Raising a hand to her face, Belle gingerly touched the heated surface. She was generally uncertain if she was blushing, sunburnt or just red from embarrassment. But knowing her traitorous pale skin, she was probably red as a tomato by now.

“I’m the only Australian I know that burns instead of tans,” Belle found herself sharing, toeing the gravel with her right foot. Mr. Cadillac still stood before her. Another car drove by, barely stopping as it noticed the two drivers between their cars.

He coughed into his hand as the dust churned about them. “I see,” he said slowly and Belle smiled as they both realized he didn’t, not at all. “Well, if you have someone coming to assist you-“ He turned back towards his car, obviously wanting to depart before any further cars came and ruined his suit.

“I don’t actually,” Belle said loudly, stepping forward as he took a step backwards. “Have anyone coming to help, that is.”

Stilling, the man cocked his head slightly to the left in confusion before she continued, “I was just going to try and fix it myself. I think it might be the battery.”

“Are you familiar with cars?” He asked neutrally but he was already moving forward, rolling his sleeves up as he came within a few feet of her. Belle felt a small spark of something flare up as he neared her but he brushed past her until he stood before the hood of the car.

Belle shrugged as she joined him, letting her shoulder line up with his as they peered down at the engine. “Not really,” she admitted. It was much hotter under the hood, despite the car having been off for an hour or so. Maybe it was him. “But I was reading the manual. I think it’s the battery-“

“It’s undone,” he said in some relief. Without hesitation, he took the cord and reattached it to the engine, turning towards her with an accomplished smile gracing his face. Belle found herself smiling back at him in return, her goofy grin reflected back at her in the dark lenses of his glasses.

“Thank you!” She enthused, before coloring as she remembered that she had undone the cord in the first place. He nodded back before he began to back away. She followed suit so he could lower the hood, letting it snap back into place with a loud crash of metal. “I’m Belle by the way,” she quickly offered, raising her right hand towards him.

He stared at it for a moment before he wiped his hands against his suit. Belle’s eyes widened at the careless way he was treating the fine Italian material before he grasped her hand with his own. “Gold,” he introduced himself with a wry smile. He lifted his glasses from his face, revealing warm brown eyes lined with age. “Robert Gold.”

The giggle escaped her before she could stifle it, causing her rescuer to raise a inquisitive eyebrow at her as her horrified noise quickly dissolved into more giggles. “I’m sorry,” she managed between giggles, raising a hand to him as she bent over nearly in half on the side of the road. He was staring down at her in some confusion, hands back in his pockets. Belle felt hysterical tears prick her eyes as she shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she repeated as she straightened. “But it’s- it’s really embarrassing but I’ve been referring to you as Mr. Gold Cadillac for a year now and I wasn’t actually that far off.”

His eyebrow arched higher and Belle realized what she had just said.

“Holy cow,” she whispered, lifting her hands to her mouth. “I’m not a stalker,” she quickly tried to reassure him. “It’s just you and I have the same schedule and I kind of thought of as- as you know car buddies or something-“

“Belle,” he said slowly, glancing at her car before back at his own. “Are you telling me you broke down on the side of a busy highway to meet me?”

For a moment, Belle stared at the stoic face of her year long crush and weighed her options.

If she admitted it, he would probably leave and she would have to move and get a new job and never be able to look a Cadillac’s ever again without blushing.

If she denied it, she’d still never be able to look at a Cadillac without blushing.

Throwing all common sense to the wind, Belle nodded and let one last short laugh out before she told him, “I did actually. Now's the part where you hurry back to your car before you go home and tell your girlfriend or wife or partner that you met a crazy person today.”

Instead, he stood there, brow furrowed as he looked at her in silent confusion.

“Uh,” Belle glanced down at her feet, swaying slightly back and forth as she felt his eyes on her. “Any time now.”

“Why would I do that?”

Belle’s head snapped up to find him smiling at her, a warm familiar smile that she had seen so many times in her rearview mirror.

“Because I tricked you into meeting me?” Belle suggested, tucking her hair back behind her ear.

He shrugged, that endearing half smirk still upon his sharp features. “Tell you the truth, Belle, I’m rather annoyed at myself for not thinking of it myself.”

“Really?” Belle laughed as another car zipped by them, the one honking obnoxiously as it passed.

“Really,” he confirmed. “I was coming close to calling in a favor the Sheriff owes me-“

“You were going to have me pulled over?” Belle said in mock outrage, even as she internally jumped and up down in joy. Ruby was never going to believe any of this-

He nodded again, a mischievous light in his eyes. “He would have let you off with a warning,” he told her. “But I figured I could at least find out your name.”

“And what were you going to do after you gave me a heart attack?” Belle teased, moving closer. She heard her phone ringing in her car, ignoring it as she tried to play it cool.

“Ask you to dinner,” he replied smoothly. For a moment, Belle was rather intimidated by the cool demeanor, until she saw his hands were shaking. He crammed them back into his pocket when he saw her eyes glance down but he was too late.

“Are you nervous I won’t say yes?”

“Terrified,” he answered with a chuckle of self-awareness. “It’s not every day an old man like me asks out a beautiful young woman, dearie.”

“Dearie?” Belle repeated happily. “I like that.”

“Just a habit,” he said, ducking his head.

Deciding to have mercy on him, Belle replied to his unasked question.

“I’d love to have dinner with you, Robert,” she told him. “Tomorrow, at Gepetto’s?”

He nodded again, tongue peeking out between his teeth to worry at a small crack on his lower lip. Belle found herself biting her own bottom lip in response. When both of them realized the other was staring, they broke apart, turning back to their cars in embarrassment.

“So, tomorrow,” he said hoarsely. “I can pick you up?”

“I work right down the street actually,” Belle shared. “At the library.”

“Figures,” he said with another shake of his head. “I work down by the docks. I own Gold’s Pawnshop.”

“I know that place,” Belle replied, hand resting forgotten on her door handle. “One of my best friends loves that place. She’s always redecorating her place with new antique stuff, drives her husband crazy.”

“I look forward to hearing all about her,” Robert answered with a small smile ghosting around his mouth. “But rush hour is starting and I want to make sure you get home safely with that battery.”

“Robert,” Belle called out as he turned to head back to his car. He twisted his head back towards her, a brief look of worry dancing across his features. She found it utterly endearing. “I’m glad you stopped.”

“Not as glad as I am,” he answered earnestly.

As she buckled her seat belt and turned on the car, relieved as it easily turned over, Belle couldn’t hide the grin as she picked up the phone to call Ruby back.

“You’ll never believe it,” she said as soon as Ruby picked up. She merged back onto the highway, glancing behind her as the Cadillac followed closely.

“Is he hot? Is he married? Did he ask you out?”

“His name is Gold,” Belle giggled, rolling the window down to let the breeze air out the heated car. “Ruby, his name is actually Mr. Robert Gold.”

“Shut up,” Ruby roared back, even as her grandmother chided her in the background. “Mr. Gold Cadillac is actually Mr. Gold?”

“I owe you a milkshake,” Belle sighed blissfully. “How about Friday afternoon after our date tomorrow night?”

Belle couldn’t make out what Ruby was actually saying underneath all her happy shouting but she didn’t care. As her eyes strayed back to the rearview mirror, she noticed Robert was smiling too.


End file.
